The Mets (48-54) were crushed by the Brewers (58-45) on Thursday night in Milwaukee, losing 9-1 at Miller Park.

Dillon Gee got the start for the Mets and struggled for the 2nd time in a row. Gee allowed 6 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks in 5 innings, striking out 6 and throwing 91 pitches.

Milwaukee struck first with a solo shot from Jonathan Lucroy in the bottom of the opening frame against Gee, and kept piling it on after that. Jean Segura hit a 2-run triple after Gee issued a pair of walks in the bottom of the 2nd, and scored on a base hit from former Met Carlos Gomez, who would steal 2nd and come in to score on a single from Lucroy to make it 5-0 Brewers. Milwaukee would push the lead to 6th in the bottom of the 3rd thanks to 1-out doubles by Rickie Weeks and Khris Davis, before Gee finally settled in and put up 2 perfect innings to make it through 5.

Meanwhile, the Mets could muster nothing against Matt Garza. Wilmer Flores, making his return from the minor leagues, knocked a single in the 3rd inning, but that would stand as New York’s only hit for much of the night.

Terry Collins elected to pinch-hit for Gee in the top of the 6th, and sent in Daisuke Matsuzaka to pitch the bottom of the inning. Davis greeted Dice-K with a shot over the wall in left-center, but Matsuzaka bounced back to get through the rest of the inning.

The Mets got on the board in the top of the 7th when Lucas Duda hit a solo shot to center, but that was all their offense would provide on the night.

Matsuzaka came back out for the bottom of the 7th and, with Gomez on first, served up a fat one to Ryan Braun, who injected it deep into the second deck to make it 9-1 Milwaukee. That would become the final score, as a rally was not in the cards for the Mets.

Duda’s having a nice season, and went yard again tonight. However, I’m pretty sure he would have drawn less criticism from the Mets e-fanbase had he struck out in the 7th, rather than hitting a solo shot with a 7-run deficit. Whatever…

In Gee’s last start, he got off to a rocky beginning, settled down to get through the 4th and 5th innings, and was pulled for a mediocre pinch-hitter with nobody on base in the top of the 6th. In the bottom of the 6th, the man brought in to relieve Gee gave up a long-ball to the first batter. That happens to be exactly what happened tonight, as well. Terry used to pull Dillon too late in close games. Now he’s pulling him too early in blowouts. Gee hasn’t pitched much the last few months. Let him build his arm strength back up by staying in the game, especially once he starts to find his groove. Please, Terry… I beg you.

Our offense has scored 15 runs in the 7 games since the All-Star Break, after a red-hot stretch at Citi Field before the vacation. It’s a bit frustrating, since things are usually the other way around, but I guess I’d rather have them hit like a competent team at home, in front of the fans. Ideally, we could be decent in all stadiums, though…

This game will probably hurt the ol’ run differential, huh, Sandy? Let’s get it back tomorrow.

Up next: The Mets will look to even their series with the Brewers on Friday night in Milwaukee. Zack Wheeler (5-8, 3.78 ERA) will face Yovani Gallardo (5-5, 3.79 ERA) at 8:10 PM.

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https://metsmerizedonline.com/2014/07/mmo-game-recap-brewers-9-mets-1.html/feed/194Ryan Braun Is No Better Than Lance Armstronghttps://metsmerizedonline.com/2013/07/ryan-braun-is-no-better-than-lance-armstrong.html/
https://metsmerizedonline.com/2013/07/ryan-braun-is-no-better-than-lance-armstrong.html/#respondTue, 23 Jul 2013 13:35:49 +0000http://metsmerizedonline.com/?p=125580[...]]]>When Lance Armstrong came forward with his admission, it came off as mostly disingenuous and was received with little sympathy.

For years, Armstrong lied, denied and attacked anyone who stood in his way. He ruined people’s lives, filed lawsuits and did anything necessary in order to preserve himself with no regard for the damage left behind in order to so.

Ryan Braun is no better. When the then-reigning NL MVP tested positive for performance enhancing drugs, instead of taking his 50-game suspension like a man, Braun lawyered up.

Rather than serve his time, Braun and his crack staff put together a case at the expense of the sample handler in Dino Laurenzi Jr., accusing the collector of tampering with his urine, which was taken anonymously.

Braun came out having beat the system on a technicality, but left a tidal wave of residual damage in the process. Laurenzi’s reputation was severely tarnished. Longtime arbitrator Shyam Das was fired as a result of the case. Major League Baseball’s testing program was made to look foolish and led to a complete overhaul of the testing process.

Braun had the audacity to emerge from it all and proclaim that “at the end of the day, the truth prevailed”. As Danny Knobler of CBS Sportspointed out last night, Braun was right when he said that, he just had the wrong day.

After conflicting statements were initially released by both Braun and his attorney following the outbreak Biogenesis scandal, threats of lawsuits on the Miami News Times and others, and the continued belligerent proclamation of his innocence saying “the truth has not changed”, Braun’s judgment day finally came yesterday in the form of a suspension for the remainder of the 2013 season.

Having negotiated the suspension with MLB, Braun accepted his ban, and rather than face the media and truly show remorse for his actions, the disgraced Milwaukee outfielder issued a statement, then slipped away from Miller Park before the announcement of his punishment.

“I am deeply gratified to see Ryan take this bold step.” said MLBPA executive director Michael Weiner, yet there is nothing bold about it.

In Braun’s weak-at-best statement, he admits he “made some mistakes”, yet fails to mention the hardship to so many people he has caused. He duped the Milwaukee fanbase into believing he was set up in 2011, he became an icon of the sport when in actuality was yet another common fraud.

Ryan Braun will come back in 2014 hoping to “continue his great work both on and off the field”, however his name will forever be mud in the eyes of the baseball world.

Like Lance Armstrong, Braun still fails to see the true error of his ways and the lives he altered in order to get ahead. He is not sorry for his actions, they have made him a multi-millionaire, but rather he is only sorry he got caught.

I believe Danny Knobler said it best:

“At the end of the day, the truth prevailed,” he said all those months ago in Arizona.

At the end of that day, it didn’t. At the end of this day, it has.

]]>https://metsmerizedonline.com/2013/07/ryan-braun-is-no-better-than-lance-armstrong.html/feed/0Marcum Out For The Season, Will Have Surgery To Repair Blocked Arteryhttps://metsmerizedonline.com/2013/07/marcum-out-for-the-season-will-have-surgery-to-repair-blocked-artery.html/
https://metsmerizedonline.com/2013/07/marcum-out-for-the-season-will-have-surgery-to-repair-blocked-artery.html/#respondTue, 09 Jul 2013 23:28:29 +0000http://metsmerizedonline.com/?p=124044[...]]]>

Ed Coleman first reported on WFAN that starting pitcher Shaun Marcum is done for the year. “It hasn’t been announced here today, but it’s coming shortly. He’s pitched his last game with the Mets”

True enough, Marc Carig of Newsday has confirmed the news and is reporting that Marcum has been diagnosed with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, and will have surgery on Monday to repair a blocked artery. He will be out 2-3 months and possibly miss the rest of the season.

Marcum had been dealing with tingling and numbness in his fingers related to pain in his upper back and shoulder.

Tough break for Marcum and we at MMO wish him well.

(Joe D.)

Original Post 7/7

The Shaun Marcum reclamation project may have run its course. In a bid to flip a distressed property for a profit the Met front office took a chance on an old acquaintance of J.P. Ricciardi, bringing the well traveled 31 year old righthander to New York. Marcum was signed to a $4 million dollar contract with an additional 4 $million available through incentives. It seemed like a good idea at the time, even considering the worrisome injury history replete with every arm and shoulder ailment conceivable. Why? Because Marcum has managed to win, when healthy, in just about every place he’s pitched. When he’s been able to take the mound, he is excellent, and the Mets believed Marcum would be healthy.

Although he began the year on the DL, Marcum has managed to make 11 starts and two gutsy performances out of the bullpen. If things had gone according to plan Marcum would be something like 6 -3 with maybe a just under 4.00 ERA. Marcum would have become the suddenly valuable property in the suddenly trendy neighborhood you could flip for a hefty profit. Didn’t work out that way. He’s been equal parts unlucky, poorly supported, inconsistent, and awful, posting a 5.29 ERA, a 1.35 WHIP, with more hits than innings pitched and a 1-10 record. Ouch. This property isn’t moving anywhere anytime soon.

It would have been sweet to unload Marcum at the trade deadline for a decent outfield prospect knowing we already have a host of promising arms in the minors waiting for the call, but oh well, that’s how the cookie crumbles. So what now? Trade for peanuts? Non-tender? Demote? Outright? Marcum may yet turn things around, but plugging him into the rotation is almost certainly preventing some kid (Montero?) from cutting his teeth on the big stage. Yeah, I know it still might be nice to build up some minimal value for Marcum, but it’s getting to be too late for even the most marginal return and watching him lose games with alarming regularity is not helping him or his team’s future.

Last night, Marcum refused to let Anthony Recker, who had been on something of a hot streak, catch for him after the lineup had already been posted. This created a bit of an awkward situation. In reading between the lines you got the sense that Terry Collins felt the need to explain his player’s intransigence by needlessly bringing up the fact that Marcum had a long history with John Buck dating back to Toronto. It was an odd moment.

It gets worse. Apparently Marcum is not the nicest hamster in the habitat. The first warning was his oddly confrontational response to a question about an MRI last week where he said, “That’s for me and the club, I don’t know why you guys think you need to know everything.” Another red flag is the stream of information that’s trickled out of Toronto which places Marcum at the center of a clubhouse mutiny. There was this quote on the Drunk Jays Fans website:

Here’s Jeff Blair speaking on his Fan 590 show this week, pouring water on anything resembling the potential reuniting of Marcum and the Jays (audio here)…

“Ah… there are extenuating circumstances with Shaun Marcum– no chance that he’s back here,” he explained. “I think the Blue Jays thought that there were some things going on in the clubhouse when he was there that they didn’t necessarily like. Shaun Marcum is definitely not coming back here, not as long as Alex Anthopoulos is General Manager, put it that way.”

Marcum reportedly was hoping to sign with the Jays at a reasonable price but Anthopoulos turned it down, thereby gifting him to Ricciardi and the Mets. Beware of Greeks and their gifts as they say!

That Marcum is occasionally rude and that he partakes in a cocktail or seven isn’t anything new in the annals of major league player exploits, but even so a comment by a member of the Milwaukee press yesterday took me aback. It is difficult for me to explain the specifics of the exchange which was triggered by a discussion of Marcum’s MRI comments without violating press room etiquette and discretion so I will only say that it didn’t sound good, and that this sort of behavior was nothing new to the Milwaukee press. None of the comments were contested and there seemed to be a broad consensus among the Brewer writers that Marcum was one of the most difficult players they’d ever dealt with. Apparently he was right up there with Marco Estrada — which is not a good thing.

But in the end the truth is that Marcum’s off-field antics and his rudeness don’t really matter much. Sportswriters are as petty and fickle as any of us and have been known to create mountains out of molehills before and this would certainly be a non-issue if Marcum were pitching well (as would his refusal to pitch to Recker). What does matter is Marcum’s performance and the fact that he’s blocking some promising young players in the pitching pipeline.

You have to wonder with Marcum whether you are hoping against hope that you will squeeze some value from a commodity that may be worth less than what you paid for it, which may be losing value with every loss and every ache and pain and tingle in the fingers, and which may be bringing the neighborhood down as well. In the end, your best bet may be to cut your losses and move on. Sometimes the best thing you can do is to bring in the wrecking ball.

I’ll be watching and reporting from the press booth at Miller Park for today’s finale as the Mets send young Jeremy Hefner to the mound for the rubber match and hopefully a series win.

Thoughts from Joe D.

Thanks for the added insights you got from the other beat writers, Matt. There were a lot of high hopes for Marcum when we signed him, even for a pitcher who was still on the scrap heap and one of the last players to sign a major league contract before spring training began. By the time John Buck pleaded with J.P. Ricciardi to sign his best friend, it was already January 30th. The Recker thing didn’t bother me as much. Both Buck and Marcum won’t be coming back and they’ve been a combo meal since day one.

However, I always wonder what the other catcher feels like after seeing his name on the lineup card all day, and then watching his manager rip it down 45 minutes before game time to post another one with someone else’s name on it rather than yours? And then being told that your teammate preferred to pitch to someone else rather than you?

I find it interesting that Terry Collins would allow a player to make that call and usurp what the manager felt was the team’s best chance to win that day.

Marcum has the worst ERA on the Mets pitching staff – rotation and bullpen included – and takes home the biggest paycheck. And that check will keep getting bigger and bigger from this point on.

A whopping 99 starting pitchers in the National League alone have a better ERA than Marcum does this morning. I didn’t bother to check the American League as that NL tidbit alone was distasteful enough for me. That pretty much says that any pitcher in the game right now would be an improvement over Marcum…. Trade value? What trade value?

For a guy who should be thankful for every start the Mets still give him, his attitude bugs the crap out of me. I can’t stand people who whine and gripe all the time, and when it’s a player who gets paid millions like he does I hate it that much worse. Marcum is a square peg, a black sheep, a not so nice teammate (unless you’re John Buck), and a constant griper who snaps at questions he doesn’t like.

I now understand why he was the last starting pitcher standing in free agency this Winter and why nobody save the Mets came knocking – and they only did so because of his association with John Buck… If not for that, we most likely would have had a chance to see Rafael Montero make the jump to the majors by now.

The New York Mets beat the Milwaukee Brewers by the score of 2-1 before 39,677 at Miller Park today on Hank Aaron Bobblehead Day.

Game time temperature was a beautiful 87 degrees and the first pitch was at 1:10 pm.

Jeremy Hefner was crisp and precise working quickly through seven innings while striking out eight and allowing only two hits and walk. Hefner gave up just one earned run on a home run to dead center by Jonathan Lucroy on an 0 – 2 count. Otherwise the kid was brilliant. The eight strikeouts matched a career high. Hefner now has a 1.27 ERA over his past seven starts and hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in any of those outings.

Tom Gorzelanny matched zeros with Hefner for the first three innings until the Mets broke through in the 4th with a run on a throwing error by Juan Francisco. The Brewers again were awful in the field and it cost them dearly.

Josh Satin continued to rake extending his hitting streak to 11 games. He hit the ball hard all day going 3-for-4 with two doubles and a single lifting his season average to .382 and on-base percentage to .485.

Bobby Parnell got a four-out save without incident to preserve the win as the Mets took the series in Milwaukee and head off to San Francisco.

This was a series the Mets should have won as the Brewers didn’t appear particularly competent in any facet of their game. They seem like a pretty good offensive team, but don’t muster a whole lot of punch without Braun in the lineup. The biggest knock on the Brewers is their defense, and they were about as bad as you can be during this three game series. It was nice to see the Mets beating a team they are supposed to beat.

Here’s a funny video clip I took of John Buck disrupting the Sausage Race:

Maybe Buck was auditioning to be a Knockwurst….

The Mets now head to San Francisco where Matt Harvey (7-2, 2.27) opens up the three game series on Monday against Tim Lincecum (4-9, 4.66). First pitch is at 10:15 PM ET. MMO will be at AT&T Park for all three games, so keep it tuned right here. I hope you enjoyed my coverage from Milwaukee.

]]>https://metsmerizedonline.com/2013/07/hefner-shines-satin-rakes-mets-plug-the-brewers-2-1.html/feed/0Beer Country Primer for Mets Fanshttps://metsmerizedonline.com/2013/07/beer-country-primer-for-mets-fans.html/
https://metsmerizedonline.com/2013/07/beer-country-primer-for-mets-fans.html/#respondSat, 06 Jul 2013 13:24:45 +0000http://metsmerizedonline.com/?p=123944[...]]]>When I was a kid Wisconsin was one of those places that existed in name only. Places like Wisconsin and Minnesota and Kentucky were as unlikely to actually exist as Bora Bora or the Canary Islands or Narnia. In a “tree falling in the forest that no one hears” kind of way, if I wasn’t aware of these places were they even real? Did I know anyone who had been there and returned to tell of it? Well, it turns out Wisconsin is a real place, and Milwaukee is a real city just like in Laverne and Shirley.

To get there you have to travel along highway 94 where you can buy cheese pretty much anywhere. Not just from grocery shops or convenience stores, but from strange out-buildings scattered awkwardly among the small farms and cow pastures along the highway, just cheese. Granted, the curds (with a “c” not a “K”) are to die for, but still, you’d think they’d have a jerky aisle, or a rack of potato chips, or some Wisconsin shaped key chains by the cash register.

In many ways Wisconsin is a lot like Minnesota. In most places you look out the window and you wouldn’t be able to tell them apart. But there are some subtle differences, like the fact that Wisconsin has an actual NFL team. The mosquitoes aren’t quite as bad either, I’m pretty sure 5 or 6 of them can’t take down a moose like they’ve been known to in the land of 10,000 lakes. The food isn’t the greatest, it is so bland you’d swear someone coated your tongue with Kilz primer. I noticed for instance when I got to my hotel restaurant that there were only four “entrees” on the menu, and eight different beer labels, all local. The entrees had short one sentence blurbs like, “chicken roasted with potato wedges and a slab of cheese,” but the beer list had these eloquent narratives with words like “hops” and “barley accents” and “hint of disguised caramel aroma,” which made me openly wonder why the f#@& caramel aroma needs a disguise and what is it disguised as, turnip?

Turns out two of the chicken entrees were really the same dish. I didn’t know that when I ordered the half baked chicken (I always picture a half chicken hopping around on one leg when I order that). In a very odd mid-western passive aggressive kind of way they brought me the chicken dish I didn’t order and then they apologized profusely and (I kid you not) offered me free beer. Now I already had (again I kid you not) a coupon for free beer, so I ended up drinking way more beer than I had any intention of drinking which turns out is a really important part of the experience. It was all very strange. I was actually OK with the dish they brought me (it wasn’t a big deal as I was pretty hungry), so I ended up feeling like these people actually look for reasons to give you free beer. I could learn to love this place.

Anyway it’s no surprise Wisconsin’s major league baseball team is called the Brewers. Brewers are heroes out here because they are responsible for the making of the beer … beer is it’s own food group. You get the feeling that there are huge swathes of the population that subsist strictly on beer and cheese. And why not damn it? What else could a person possibly need? It’s funny, if the locals figure out you’re from out of town sometimes they will stand in a corner and watch you apprehensively after they’ve served you your beer at which point it is very important that you make an exaggerated gesture of refreshment because if you don’t they will continue to bring you free beer until you are satisfied or plastered (whichever comes first). I think it’s like a code of honor.

Not only is their team called The Brewers, but their baseball stadium is named after a beer (even the team’s original owner is named after a beer). In fact the whole city is named after an Ojibwe word “ominowakiing” which means “gathering place (by the river) where you drink beer.” There are several beer museums, and I’m pretty sure there is at least one beer saint, Saint Barleyhops or something.

Today I get to take in a game at Miller Park. Can’t wait. Last night the Brewers were a comedy of bibulous bobbles and burps playing against a Mets team that had just gotten off a plane after playing a series against the Diamondbacks that felt like it lasted a month. But the Brewers can’t possibly be as bad as they were last night, especially if they manage to sober up. The Mets on the other hand are a much different team from the one I got to see in Minneapolis a while back. Different shortstop, completely different outfield, a new kid starter, so this should be interesting.

The Mets also have Ike Davis back. I am told it is the real Ike Davis not the weird impostor we were fooled by for the greater part of the season. My only worry is that having no doubt imbued the local fare by game time, the playing field may be leveled for the Mets. But so it goes. It is rumored that Bud Selig himself is going to announce the All Star game rosters at some point, so we should be in for a beer barrel of fun, sports fans.

KIRK, KIRK, KIRK, KIRK, KIRK, KIRK…

What a comedy of errors we had in this one as the New York Mets walloped the Milwaukee Brewers by the score of 12-5 tonight at Miller Park. This was a fun game and I hope you all got a chance to watch it.

I’m going to forego a retelling of all the many Brewer baserunning blunders and just get to the stuff we really care about – what did the Mets do!!!

Lets cut right to the chase and say that the return of Ike Davis to the lineup couldn’t have gone any better than it did. Davis went 3-for-5 with a walk, two runs scored and two RBI’s. It was his first 3-hit game since last September. Good for him…

Kirk Nieuwenhuis had the game of his life… He was on base six times, going 4-for-4 with a pair of walks, three runs scored and five RBIs… Wow… Are you kidding me??? Nieuwenhuis became the first Met to reach base six times in one game since Mike Piazza in 2000.

Juan Lagares also had a nice game going 2-for-3 with a walk and three ribbies, while Eric Young had a pair of hits and scored three runs. The Mets totaled 14 hits and went 7-for-22 with runners in scoring position.

Oh yeah… Zack Wheeler pitched tonight… The kid had a pedestrian performance, but he’s a work in progress. He allowed three runs, one earned, on seven hits and three walks while striking out three. Wheeler also had a single for his first career hit. One more thing…. When Wheeler is in trouble and has ducks on the pond, I love how he bears down and fights his way out of trouble. You can’t teach that… But yes, he’s a work in progress…

ROBBED!!!

What a leaping catch by former Met Carlos Gomez who robbed Marlon Byrd of a home run. Gomez is having an incredible season for the Brew Crew!

Six of the 17 runs scored tonight were unearned. The Brewers were charged with three errors and six boneheaded plays.

So anyway, that’s the long and short of it… The Mets get their road trip off to a nice start with a not so pretty, but very satisfying win in Milwaukee…

Shaun Marcum faces his former team tomorrow night at 7:15 PM. He opposes right-hander Yovani Gallardo (6-8, 4.78). MMO will be there live on Saturday and Sunday and we’ll bring you some extra bonus coverage. Thanks to Jay Horwitz for the assist!

]]>https://metsmerizedonline.com/2013/07/nieuwenhuis-goes-crazy-davis-goes-insane-wheeler-wins-the-game.html/feed/0Mikey J’s Trip to Miller Parkhttps://metsmerizedonline.com/2010/06/mikey-js-trip-to-miller-park.html/
https://metsmerizedonline.com/2010/06/mikey-js-trip-to-miller-park.html/#respondWed, 02 Jun 2010 18:43:22 +0000http://metsmerizedonline.com/?p=28298[...]]]>Let me start out by saying that I thoroughly enjoyed myself at the game in Milwaukee on Sunday, in which the Mets salvaged a game and avoided a sweep to a team that previously had a horrible home record. We recently moved to Madison and a friend with Brewers season tickets invited my wife, 2-year old son and I to the game. In addition to the outcome being awesome, there were several other observations I had.

First, I saw three other people in the stadium with Mets gear on–THREE. Being a holiday weekend, I would have thought more folks would venture to the Midwest to see the Mets, but maybe I’m naive about that.

Secondly, that stadium is gorgeous, clean and everyone who worked there was extremely nice, even though it was about 90 degrees with 100% humidity. Luckily, we had seats in the shade. Furthermore, getting in and out of the stadium was about as easy as putting mustard on a hot dog–you exit the freeway, turn right and you’re in the parking lot, where someone guides you in. Now I admit we left in the 9th inning because our kid was being 2, it was hot and the Mets were crushing the home team. But leaving took about the same time as entering. Turn around, exit the stadium, turn onto the freeway and you’re heading home. No traffic in the parking lot or the freeway. I’ve been to many ballparks, and I’ve never had an in-and-out experience like that one. I know it’s the kind of thing that is important the older you get, but I thought it had to be mentioned.

Finally, and this is the best part. I went to fetch my kid some Gatorade, and I missed Luis Castillo’s RBI single in the 6th. But when I got back to my seat, my wife says, “You’d be so proud of your son.” Turns out that while everyone in the park was booing Castillo’s hit (or more accurately, booing Jeff Suppan), our 2 year old looks at the field, looks at his mom, and starts clapping. That’s my boy!